Romantic Troubles of Duanmu-kun

Episode 14: A First Love That Ended Without a Sound

Time to get to work.

First came the classification of materials from the “video tape.”

The medical records of a psychiatric patient named Otsuka Ken;
His past life and family history;
And… a map.

Not just an ordinary Tokyo district map, but a detailed track distribution diagram drawn by professionals, documenting nearby rail and underground transportation routes.

“…This man called Otsuka Ken must be the ‘Nagawa City Killer,'” the novelist mused, stroking his chin.

Otsuka Ken’s first twenty-some years of life were condensed onto a few white sheets of paper. They detailed the serial killings in Nagawa City that occurred within one year. For the eight years following, Otsuka Ken had been receiving treatment at a local psychiatric hospital in Nagawa City. His condition, however, showed no signs of improvement.

“His father was Otsuka Yuuya. After leaving the orphanage, he spent most of his time unemployed. From age twenty, Otsuka Yuuya became an associate member of the Nagawa City yakuza; his mother worked as a hostess at a nightclub.”

Before marriage, both of Otsuka Ken’s parents lived alone in this city, far from their past and hometown, with neither family nor close friends nearby.

Perhaps only when two equally lonely and cold people who grew up on society’s margins came together could they truly understand each other. Like hedgehogs covered in spines, yet drawing close to share warmth in the cold winter.

“Hmm…”

In the novelist’s mind, a humble yet touching love story between a small-time thug and a hostess quickly took shape. With some polish to the plot, it would make quite good story material.

He shook his head and continued turning the pages.

“His mother joined some new religious group when Otsuka Ken was three years old, ran away from home, and vanished after that, never appearing before Otsuka Ken again… Hey! What kind of parents are these!”

…Let’s just pretend the previous thought was an illusion.

“Otsuka Yuuya quickly married a new wife—his former wife’s good friend—with whom he’d already been having an affair. You two really deserve each other!”

An unfortunate family, an unfortunate childhood.

These elements wove together the beginning of Otsuka Ken’s life.

“During his childhood, he often came home from school to find police cars parked outside and was subsequently questioned by officers. There were nights when he slept alone at home, only to have menacing adults come looking for him.”

“According to Otsuka Ken himself, even when police cars just happened to pass by outside during his youth, he would hide under his blanket trembling, too afraid to emerge.”

“Because of this troublesome family background, both neighbors and his classmates and teachers treated him differently, fostering his introverted and self-deprecating personality.”

“However, Otsuka Ken himself performed quite well in school, worked hard at his job, and was very obedient. In fact, after the murder cases were solved, his colleagues and boss were shocked—he hadn’t seemed like someone who could be a killer at all.”

If he could have continued that way, he might have walked down the “right” path in life.

Like an ordinary person: getting married, having children, working hard, gradually being reaccepted by society despite coming from its margins through his efforts…

During this process, he might have slowly moved away from the shadows of his childhood.

However, reality has no “ifs.”

At twenty-two, he still became an antisocial killer.

Standing on this side of an eight-year gap, the novelist could naturally view the connections between the cases with clear thinking.

“…This is somewhat peculiar.”

There were many puzzling aspects.

For instance, why was Miyagi-san convinced that the “Nagawa City Killer” was connected to the murder case from two weeks ago?

For instance, how had she, who was only a middle school student eight years ago, obtained clues about the perpetrator that even the police couldn’t find?

And also…

“What exactly is this woman expecting by leaving the ‘video tape’ to me…”

He scratched his head and couldn’t help but sigh.

“Well then, these materials are what Miyagi-san had me retrieve from the mailbox.”

In other words, everything on the table was information that Miyagi Aki wanted to know. When pieced together, it would reveal…

“Her speculation.”

He quickly realized the key to the issue.

The perpetrator of the Nagawa City murder cases from eight years ago. In the end, it was only because of the clues provided by Miyagi Aki that the police were able to catch him.

While it might be possible for an ordinary person to surpass the police force—with their collection of professionals possessing extensive criminal investigation experience, technology, and equipment—though the chances were slim, it wasn’t impossible.

First were political factors.

Local police departments and the Metropolitan Police Department were equally part of the bureaucratic system and would naturally be constrained by various forces. To deal with cases involving high-level cover-ups, one might only be able to count on phantom thieves. But the Nagawa City case didn’t seem like that type.

Second was the matter of “direction” in thinking.

If the initial premise was wrong, no amount of effort would lead anywhere but astray.

In the past, there had been incidents including public trust crises regarding government institutions represented by the police organization, as well as the resignation and reform of National Public Safety Commission members.

After that, the current police force would consider hiring people with special information channels and abilities when investigating certain thorny unusual cases. There were also dedicated public channels.

Eight years ago, Miyagi Aki provided clues through such means, and they did catch the criminal. Whether her “speculation” itself was correct or not was entirely irrelevant.

In other words, following her line of thinking would lead to the right direction, closer to the truth of the incident—

*

“…Let’s begin.”

He quickly grabbed his wallet, keys, and materials, and swiftly left the rental apartment.

Taking one last look at the calendar hanging on the wall. There was still a week left until the end of Yuihara High School’s spring break.

Within these seven days, he had to write an ending for this “detective game.”

Gazing at the empty room, it seemed as if the girl’s presence still lingered.

The stairwell, the corridor, the entrance.

As if she might still appear there, such an illusion couldn’t help but surge in his heart.

Because it was Miyagi-san’s “story,” no matter how absurd and preposterous, he wanted to see it through to the end.

Even if they weren’t people of the same world.

Even if they had already bid farewell so casually—

…

The year spent with Miyagi-san was still just an unrequited first love that ended without a sound, belonging to a high school boy in the easily fantasizing period of youth.